Church Of St James

The Church of St James is a parish church located on Church Street in Harvington. It dates back to the 12th century, with significant enlargements made in the early 14th century and restoration work carried out in 1855 by F. Preedy. The church features a west tower, chancel, nave, and a north porch.

The west tower, which is from the 12th century, consists of three stages and is topped by a copper-clad broach spire added in 1855. The belfry has openings with two semicircular-headed lights, separated by a shaft with a capital and a label above. The nave, constructed in the 14th century, has three bays divided by buttresses and includes two windows with two ogee trefoiled lights under 2-centred heads. The central porch, added in the 19th century, is made of stone and features a gabled roof with a 2-centred arch. The chancel also has three bays with buttresses, including diagonal corner buttresses, and its windows are lancets topped with ogee trefoil heads. There is a priest's door in the west bay, and the west window is a 19th-century design with three ogee trefoil lights under a 2-centred head.

Inside, the nave features a wide tower arch with two chamfered orders leading to a 2-centred head, along with traces of a narrower 12th-century roof and wall lines on the tower wall. The chancel arch, dating from the 14th century, has two chamfered orders and a 2-centred head, with a triangular-headed piscina located to the south. The chancel also includes an ogee-trefoiled piscina to the south of the altar. The roofs consist of four bays in the nave with 19th-century arch-braced collar trusses, while the chancel roof is similar but has three bays. Notable fittings include a simple 12th-century tub-shaped font and a wall tablet on the west wall of the chancel commemorating Thomas Feriman, who died in 1619, framed by Doric columns.